MONTREAL - A funeral service for teacher, Grey Cup champion, and ALS sufferer Tony Proudfoot will be held Wednesday at 11 a.m. at the Cedar Park United Church in Pointe-Claire.

Proudfoot fought the ravages of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) in the public eye, so it's little surprise that people flocked to his visitation Tuesday in Dollard-des-Ormeaux to pay their respects.

Proudfoot passed away last Thursday at the age of 61 after three and a half years of fighting what is commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

A two-time Grey Cup champion over his 12-year career with the Alouettes and B.C. Lions, a teacher for 30 years at Dawson College and Concordia University, and a radio broadcaster, Proudfoot touched the community in many ways.

Paul Chesser, a former All-Canadian football player and current staff member at Concordia University was among those who expressed the impact made by Proudfoot.

"The way he took on this challenge, he taught society more about ALS," said Chesser. "He was a great man. We'll miss him."

After Proudfoot was diagnosed with ALS in May of 2007 he decided to become a public face of the mysterious ailment, one with no known cause or cure.

His foundation raised over $500,000 for research, and his decision to speak out led to more and more people learning about the cruel disease.

"He's just a tremendous example for all of us really," said former MNA and MP Clifford Lincoln. "The courage, the guts, the humility,"

Many say that Proudfoot's greatest legacy came from his career as a teacher – whether it was on a football field, in a gymnasium or a classroom.

Dawson College colleague Toni Taylar feels that Proudfoot's presence was not just for the benefit of students.

"He was not only a consummate teacher, but he was also a professional with his colleagues so he was always giving to us, too," said Taylor. "We will miss him, we will miss him greatly."

That wasn't the only story of Proudfoot's innate knack to teach, no matter the setting.

"It was funny because he would write notes of words I kept repeating and he would point to them when I said them," said former Alouettes defensive lineman Ed Philion, who took over from Proudfoot as the lead analyst on the team's radio broadcasts. "So he was always the teacher and consummate professional."